Human beings: We're funny creatures.
We're animals but we forget this important fact all the time due to this higher-level brain that allows us to remember and analyse the past, as well as plan and even worry about our imagined future.
I lose my centre, that is my connection to the present moment (when I would naturally be grounded in my body) whenever I get triggered by something that's happening in the present moment that reminds me of something vivid that happened on my past.
This doesn't just happen to me, it happens to all of us, every day, whether we realise it or not.
I also lose my centred "groundedness", if you will, when my amazing human mind imagines my future. Whether it's a happy image or a worriesome one (and let's face it, it's often the latter) the very fact that I'm in my head thinking about the future means I'm not here and now.
By the way, you probably do this too, whether you are consciously aware of it or not.
Human beings: We're funny creatures.
We need to learn to use these higher-level brains as the amazing tools they are. As much as they can pull us out of the present moment where we could experience feeling centred, calm and grounded they can also help us to remember to do things that put us back in the present moment again. 馃檶
Three ways I find my centre again when I've lost it are:
Let me explain each one briefly so you might understand how to apply one (or all) of these in your life when you next lose your centre.
"Tapping" is a technique that sees us lightly tap our fingertips on meridian points on the face, upper body and hands usually as we talk about what is bothering us enough to make us leave the present moment.
The most well known version of tapping is Emotional Freedom Techniques, in part because it now has hundreds of scientific research papers demonstrating it's effectiveness on a huge variety of issues.
A quick search online will bring up lots of resources to teach you how to tap, on your own, for free.
Orienting refers to using our animal senses--sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste--to reconnect with our immediate environment. This works well for many people, though not all; it depends how safe your childhood was and what your body learned about the environments around you.
To practise orienting all you need to do is slowly start to look around the space you're in. What can you see that looks pleasant?
And what can you hear, near and far? Ideally focus on anything that makes you smile.
And can you feel where your body is touching something? Is it your feet on the ground or the back of your legs on a chair, or your hands on the keyboard?
If you have a strong sense of smell and/or taste you could also notice what information your nose and mouth are picking up from your immediate surroundings.
Finally, interoception. If you've spent a lot of the last few decades stuck up in your head and cut off from your body then this one might take a while to get good at. Interoception is the ability to sense what's happening internally within your own body.
It's noticing the sensations that your body is endlessly feeling including pain and pleasure, hunger and the need to eliminate waste, vitality and fatigue, and much more.
We can learn--with a little practise--to use interoception as a way to deliberately, consciously reconnect with the here and now. And, I'd argue, that by doing so more and more each day we'll actually become aware of what our body needs to maintain or regain health much faster than if we were endlessly conversing with ourselves inside our own minds.
So, there you have it: How to get calm again when you're totally stressed out. (Or the two ways I lose my centre and the three ways I find it again).
If you found this helpful, tag a friend in the comments. It's taken me more than a decade of studying within this field of healing to understand how to do this and how to explain these concepts simply.
I truly hope they can help someone else here on Hive.
This post was inspired by the brand new prompt from within the Thoughtful Daily Post Community. Here's the prompt 馃憞
We all find our center in different ways. Tell us about a practice you have that helps you stay grounded. Bonus points for oddity!
If you'd like to write a post on this topic--and you have something generally thoughtful and useful to share, then check out the Community and the rules for this project here.
